Probe card

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a probe card that can examine an object with small electrode spacing. A probe supporting plate is provided to a lower face side of a printed wiring board of a probe card. A plurality of probes are supported by the probe supporting plate. The probes comprise an upper contact, a lower contact, and a main body portion. An upper end portion of the upper contact protrudes toward an upper side of the probe supporting plate and contacts a terminal of the printed wiring board. A lower end portion of the lower contact protrudes toward a lower side of the probe supporting plate. On the probe supporting plate, a through-hole and a concave portion are formed to lock the probes, and the probes can be inserted and removed freely against the probe supporting plate from above.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a probe card for examining electricalcharacteristics of an examination object, such as a wafer.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Examinations of electrical characteristics of an electronic circuit,such as an IC or an LSI formed on a semiconductor wafer, have beentypically carried out by the use of examination devices having a probecard. The probe card typically comprises plurality of probe pins to becontacted to a large number of electrodes on a wafer, and a circuitboard transmits an electric signal to each probe for examination. Theexamination of the electric circuit on the wafer has been carried out insuch way that each electrode of the wafer are brought into contact witheach probe pin, and an electrical signal is transmitted from the circuitboard to each probe.

In recent years, spacing between electrodes of an electronic circuit ona wafer are getting smaller, and are now down to approximately tens ofμm to 100 μm due to miniaturization. Spacing for probes of the probecard need to be reduced to accommodate this, however, the spacing forterminals of a circuit board corresponding the probes can only be, forexample, reduced to approximately 0.5 mm because it is necessary tomaintain insulation between adjacent terminals while ensuring anadequate size of the terminal itself.

Under these circumstances, it has been proposed in Japanese publishedunexamined patent application No. 2004-191401 and so on to provide aninterposer having an elasticity and a contactor having a fine wiring onthe lower face side of the circuit board and mounting a probe on thelower face of the contactor. A lower face terminal of the circuit boardis formed on the contactor, and a fine wiring is formed inside of thecontactor to connect the upper face terminal and the lower faceterminal. By this contactor internal wiring, wider spacing for theterminal of the circuit board is converted into small spacing for theelectrode on the wafer.

However, in the above probe card, manufacturing has been taking timebecause it is necessary to form very complicated and fine wiring. Also,the probe card has become costly due to the necessity for designing acomplicated wiring pattern and a complicated manufacturing process.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, andit is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a probecard that can respond to an examination object such as a wafer withsmall electrodes spacing, and is also easy to manufacture andinexpensive.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to achieve the above objective, the present invention is aprobe card having a circuit board to transmit an electrical signal foran examination to a plurality of probes, and a probe supporting platepositioned on the lower face side of the circuit board to support with aplurality of probes inserted in a vertical direction, wherein on theprobe supporting plate, the upper end portion of the probe protrudesupward of the probe supporting plate and contacts the circuit board, andthe lower end portion of the probe supporting plate protrudes downwardof the probe supporting plate. Further, an upper end portion and a lowerend portion of each of the probes are shifted as viewed from a plane,wherein the plurality of probes are locked such that the spacing betweenthe upper end portions of the plurality of probes can be changed to thespacing between the electrodes of an examination body at their lower endportion.

And, the upper end portion of the probe may be directly contacted to theterminal of a circuit board. Also, a second circuit board may further bearranged between the circuit board and the probe supporting plate.

Between the circuit board and the second circuit board, a connectingplate may further be arranged. This connecting plate comprises aconductive portion penetrating in a vertical direction and an elasticmember having an insulating portion formed around the conductiveportion, wherein the upper end portion of the conductive portion of theelastic member is connected to the terminal provided on the circuitboard, and the lower end portion of the conductive portion may beelectrically connected to the second circuit board. This probe may beconfigured to be inserted and removed freely against the probesupporting port.

These plurality of probes are locked to the probe supporting plate in aplurality of rows, the probes in each row are arranged to align theupper end portion and the lower end portion in a virtually perpendiculardirection of the arrangement direction viewed from a plane. The probesin each row are grouped with adjacent probes in a plurality of groups,and within each group, the spacing of the lower end portions foradjacent probes may be smaller than that of the upper end potions. Also,each group may comprise a plurality of types of probes that havedifferent distances from the upper end portion to the lower end portionwhen viewed from a plane. And the different types of probes may bearranged adjacent to each other.

According to the present invention, each probe is locked to the probesupporting plate such that the spacing between the upper portions of theprobe are converted into the spacing of the electrode of the examinationbody at the lower end portion, thereby the examination of an examinationbody with smaller spacing between the electrodes can be performed. Also,since the probe itself can make pitch conversion of electrodes orterminals on the upper and lower face, for example, there is no need toprovide a conventional complicated fine wiring on the contactor, thusthe time and the cost for manufacturing probe cards can be reduced.

Also, in order to achieve the above objective, a second invention is aprobe card having a circuit board to transmit an electrical signal foran examination to a plurality of probes, and a probe supporting platepositioned on the lower face side of the circuit board to support with aplurality of probes inserted in a vertical direction, wherein on theprobe supporting plate, the upper end portion of the probe protrudesupward of the probe supporting plate and contacts the circuit board, andthe lower end portion of the probe protrudes downward of the probesupporting plate, wherein the probe has at least an upper portion, amain body portion and a lower portion, wherein the upper portion havingan upper end portion to contact the circuit board and an elasticityfunction against the vertical direction when the upper portion contactsthe circuit board.

On the upper face side of the probe supporting plate, a groove that hasa plurality of probes to be arranged, are formed and a through-hole thatthe lower portion of each probe penetrates may be formed on the bottomfaces of the groove.

On the side wall upper end portion of the groove of the probe supportingplate, a plurality of concave portions are formed and locked portions tobe engaged and locked to the concave portions may be formed on eachprobe.

The concave portion has a plurality of round holes with bottoms formedfrom the upper face side of the probe supporting plate, wherein theplurality of round holes are arranged linearly, the side faces ofadjacent round holes are connected to each other, and the side face ofthe round hole closest to the groove among the plurality of round holesmay open to the side wall face of the groove.

At least one or more round holes, except the round hole closest to thegroove, may be formed deeper than the round hole closest to the groove.

The upper portion of the probe may have an upper end portion having aconvex curvature portion, and a beam portion connected to the curvatureportion and formed from the upper portion to the obliquely upward of themain body portion.

The lower portion of the probe may have a perpendicular portion having alower end portion, and a beam portion formed in a horizontal directionfrom the lower portion of the main body portion and connected to theperpendicular portion at the top end. And this lower portion of theprobe may have two parallel beam portions.

Also, the main body portion of the probe may be formed in a plate forminstalled on the perpendicular face.

Further, a third invention to achieve the above objective is a probecard having a circuit board to transmit an electrical signal for anexamination of a plurality of probes, and a probe supporting platepositioned on the lower face side of the circuit board to support with aplurality of probes inserted in vertical direction, wherein on the probesupporting plate, the upper end portion of the probe protrudes upward ofthe probe supporting plate and contacts the circuit board, and the lowerend portion of the probe supporting plate protrudes downward of theprobe supporting plate, wherein the probe has at least an upper portion,a main body portion and a lower portion, wherein the main body portionhas an elasticity function against the vertical direction when the upperportion formed in a linear shape contacts the circuit board.

On the lower face side of the probe supporting plate, a groove that hasa plurality of probes to be arranged are formed and a through-hole thatthe upper portion of each probe penetrates, may be formed on the bottomfaces of the grooves.

On the lower face adjacent to the groove on the probe supporting plate,a plurality of concave portions are formed along the groove in line,each probe having a locking portion to lock the probe to the probesupporting portion, and a concave portion to be engaged in the concaveportion may be formed on the locking portion of each probe.

The locking portion of each probe may be adhered to the concaved portionwith a resin curable by light or heat. And each of the adjacent concavedportions may be formed at different distances from the groove.

This main body portion of probe may be in a serpentine form in a wave ora rectangular shape.

The locking portion of each probe may be mounted on the joint portion ofthe main body portion and the lower portion. Further, the lower portionof probe may have a perpendicular portion having a lower end portion,and a beam portion formed in the horizontal direction from the lowerportion of the main body portion and connected to the perpendicularportion at the top end.

According to the present invention, a probe card that can correspond tothe examination body with small electrode spacing, and is easy andinexpensive to manufacture, is realized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an outline of a configuration for a probein this embodiment

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of a probe supporting plate with aprobed locked.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a condition of a probesupporting plate with a plurality of probes mounted.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a concave portion formed on a probe supportingplate.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of a probe supporting plate showing aconcave portion and a through-hole formed on a probe supporting plate.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of a probe supporting plate with a probemounted.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section of a probe supporting plate having aprobe having a different curve position is locked.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view of a probe supporting plate with theprobe of FIG. 7 mounted thereon.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal section of a probe supporting plate with aprobe having two beams on lower contact, locked.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a configurationfor a probe card comprising a connection plate and an elastic member.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal section showing a configuration of a probesupporting plate with a groove formed on a lower face.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal section of a probe supporting plate that has aprobe mounted thereon.

FIG. 13( a) shows a probe with an upper contact located on center.

FIG. 13( b) shows a probe with an upper contact located on a left side.

FIG. 13( c) shows a probe with an upper contact located on a right side.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of a lower face of the probe supportingplate showing a concave portion and a through-hole formed on the probesupporting plate.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of a lower face of a probe supporting platewith a probe mounted thereon.

FIG. 16 is a longitudinal section showing a configuration of a probecard comprising a connection plate.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged cross section view of a mounting position for ametal pin of the connection plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter bedescribed. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of aprobe 1 having a probe card according to the embodiment.

The probe 1 is provided with, for example, a probe card 2, a chuck 3 tostick and retain a wafer W, as an examination object, a moving mechanism4 for moving the chuck 3, and a tester 5.

The probe card 2 is provided with, for example, a plurality of probes10, a probe supporting plate 11 which supports the probe 10 while theprobes 10 are inserted, and a printed wiring board 12 as a circuitboard, attached on the upper face side of the probe supporting plate 11.

The printed wiring board 12 is electrically connected to the tester 5.Inside of the printed wiring board 12, a wiring for an electrical signalfor examination to travel from the tester 5 is formed, and a pluralityof terminals 12 a for the wiring are formed on a lower face of theprinted wiring board 12.

The probe 10 is, for example, formed in a thin plate shape, and, asshown in FIG. 2, provided with an upper contact 20 that contacts aterminal 12 a of the printed wiring board 12, a lower contact 21 whichis brought into a contact with an electrode P of the a wafer W in anexamination, and a main body portion 22 that connects the upper contact20 and the lower contact 21. For example, Ni, a nickel alloy, such asNi—Co alloy or Ni—Mn alloy, W, Pd, BeCu alloy, or Au alloy are used as amaterial of the probe 10. The probe 10 can also be plated with preciousmetal plating materials, or an alloy of these precious metal platingmaterials, and other metal plating materials on the surface of a basematerial made of a material described above.

For example, the main body portion 22 of the probe 10 is formed in avirtually square flat plate shape and having an inclined surface on alower face of the one end A side (left side of FIG. 2). On the side faceof the other end B side (right side of FIG. 2) of upper main bodyportion 22, an upper locking portion 22 a that is locked to the probesupporting plate 11 is formed. The upper locking portion 22 a is, forexample, formed in a hook shape, protruding in a horizontal directionfrom the side face of the main body portion 22, and having its front endportion bending downward.

The upper contact 20 has, for example, a linear beam portion 20 a formedobliquely upward of the other end B side from an upper end of the A sideof the main body portion 22, and a curvature portion 20 b which isconvex and connected to the front end of the beam portion 20 a. Theupper contact 20 has elasticity in vertical directions because the beamportion 20 a bends in vertical directions. The curvature portion 20 b ispressed and contacted by the terminal 12 a of the printed wiring board12. In addition, the uppermost part of the curvature portion 20 b is theupper end portion of the probe 10 in this embodiment.

The lower contact 21 has the linear beam portion 21 a formed in thehorizontal direction from the other end B side towards the one end Aside of the lower portion of the main body portion 22, and theperpendicular portion 21 b, is connected to the top end of beam portion21 a, and is formed in a so-called cantilever shape. The perpendicularportion 21 b contacts the electrode P of wafer W at an examination. Thelower contact 21 has elasticity in the vertical direction because thebeam portion 21 a bends in vertical directions. Around the upper portionof the perpendicular portion 21 b, a lower locking portion 21 cprotrudes outward and is larger in diameter than other portions. Also, astopper 21 d protrudes downward on the lower face of the other end Bside of the beam portion 21 a. In addition, the top end of theperpendicular portion 21 b is the lower end portion of probe 10 in thisembodiment.

The probe supporting plate 11 which supports the probe 10 above is, forexample, formed in a square plate shape. The probe supporting plate 11is formed with a low-thermal expansion material, such as ceramics. On anupper face side of the probe supporting plate 11, grooves 30 are formed,for example, in a plurality of rows towards a constant direction (Xdirection) as shown in FIG. 3. Two rows of probe 10, for example, arelocked to each row of these grooves 30 so as to face each other.

The through-hole 30 a penetrates the lower face of the probe supportingplate 11, as shown in FIG. 2, and is formed on a bottom face of thegroove 30 of the probe supporting plate 11. Into this through-hole 30 a,the perpendicular portion 21 b of the lower contact 21 of probe 10 isinserted, and the lower end portion of the perpendicular portion 21 bprotrudes downward of the probe supporting plate 11. Also, the stopper21 d of the perpendicular portion 21 a contacts the upper circumferenceedge of through-hole 30 a to maintain horizontality of the beam portion21 a. In addition, the stopper 21 d may be configured to inhibit theincline of the beam portion 21 a and is usually slightly floating fromthe bottom face of grove 30, and may be configured to contact the bottomface of the grove 30 when the probe 10 is pressed downward.

A concave portion 30 b is formed on the side wall upper portion on thegroove 30 of the probe supporting plate 11. As shown in FIG. 4, theconcave portion 30 b has two round holes 30 c and 30 d having bottomsand open from the upper face side of the probe supporting plate 11. Theround holes 30 c and 30 d are linearly installed adjacent to each otherin the Y direction, and their side faces are connected. The round hole30 c is closer to the groove 30 side and is opened on its side face tothe side wall face of the groove 30. The round hole 30 d far from thegroove 30 is formed deeper than the round hole 30 c as shown in FIG. 2.The upper locking portion 22 a of main body portion 22 of the probe 10is formed on this concave portion 30 b.

As described above, the probe 10 is locked at the upper face side of theprobe supporting plate 11 by the lower locking portion 21 c and theupper locking portion 22 a, thereby it can be inserted and removed fromthe upper face side of the probe supporting plate 11.

Also, the inside of the concave portion 30 b, for example, is filledwith a light-curable resin, such as UV-curable resin, and the upperlocking portion 22 a is attached to the concave portion 30 b by curingthe resin by exposure to a UV ray with the upper locking portion 22 aengaged in that concave portion 30 a. In addition, a heat-curable resincan be used for this adhesion.

As shown in FIG. 5, the through-hole 30 a in the groove 30 is arrangedin line along the groove 30. The spacing of through-holes 30 a in thegroove 30 is configured to be equal to the spacing of the electrodes Pof the wafer W to be examined. The concave portion 30 b is formed inline along the groove 30 and is paired with the through-hole 30 a. Theconcave portion 30 b is grouped with a plurality of adjacent concaveportions (three in FIG. 5), and the spacing of the concave portions 30 bin each group G is wider than that of corresponding through-hole 30 a.Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the probes 10 are inserted to eachof through-holes 30 a and concave portion 30 b in the same group G, theprobes 10 in the group G are radiated (sector form) from thethrough-hole 30 a side to the concave portion 30 b side. This makesspacing D1 of the curvature portion 20 b of the probe 10 contacting theterminal 12 a of the printed wiring board 12 wider than the spacing D2of the perpendicular portion 21 b contacting the electrode P of wafer Wviewed as from a plane.

The probe supporting plate 11 supporting the plurality of probes 10 is,for example, fixed to a lower face of the printed wiring board 12 with abolt 40 as shown in FIG. 1. For example, a support 41 is formed on thelower face of the printed wiring board 12, and an outer circumference ofthe probe supporting plate 11 is fixed to the support 41 with the bolt40. In addition, the probe supporting plate 11 can be fixed to theprinted wiring board 12 with other fixing members, such as a leafspring, instead of bolt 40.

The chuck 3 is formed in a virtual disc shape having a horizontal upperface. The upper face of chuck 3 is provided with an aspiration outlet 3a to perform vacuum holding of the wafer W. The aspiration outlet 3 ais, for example, connected to an aspiration tube 3 b that leads to anexternal negative pressure generator 50 through the chuck 3.

The moving mechanism 4 is, for example, provided with an elevation driveportion 60, such as a cylinder to elevate the chuck 3, and an X-Y stage61 to move the elevation drive portion 60 in two directions (X directionand Y direction) perpendicular to the horizontal directions. This allowsthree-dimensional movement of the wafer W retained by the chuck 3, andspecific probes 10 located upward can be contacted to each electrode Pon the surface of wafer W.

Next, an examination process performed by the probe 1 configured asabove will be discussed. At first, the wafer W is vacuum held andretained on the chuck 3. Then, the chuck 3 is moved in the X-Y directionby the moving mechanism 4 and the position of a wafer W is adjusted.Thereafter, the chuck 3 is elevated and each electrode P on the wafer Wis pressed and contacted to each probe 10 of the probe card 2.

Thereafter, an electrical signal for an examination is transmitted fromthe tester 5 to each probe 10 through the printed wiring board 12, andthe electric signal is transmitted from each probe 10 to each electrodeP on the wafer W, then electrical characteristics of the electricalcircuit on the wafer W are examined.

According to above embodiment, the plurality of probes 10 can be lockedto the probe supporting plate 11 such that the spacing D2 between theperpendicular portions 21 b of the lower end of the probe 10 is smallerthan the spacing D1 between the curvature portions 20 b on the upper endof the probe 10, so that the probe 10 itself can convert the pitch ofterminal 12 a of the printed wiring board 12 into the pitch of theelectrode P of the wafer W without using a conventional contactor withfine wiring, thereby the wafer W with small electrode P spacing can beexamined sufficiently. This simplifies the production of the probe card2 and the probe card 2 can be manufactured inexpensively in a shortperiod of time. Also, the probe supporting plate 11 can be large in sizebecause there is no need to form a fine wiring like a conventionalcontactor. For this reason, the probe supporting plate 11 can support alarge number of probes 10 and examine a large number of electrodes P ata time. The probe 10 directly contacts the terminal 12 a of the printedwiring board 12, thus electrical contact points are less than aconventional technique, thereby the examination can be done much fasterand more accurate with high reliability.

Further, since the probe 10 can be inserted and removed freely from theprobe supporting plate 11, the probe 10 can easily be exchanged when,for example, a portion of the probe 10 is damaged. Also, the probe 10 isnot metal joined like a conventional technique, so it does notelectrically damage the joint portion when exchanging a probe 10. Inaddition, for example, the probe 10 can be replaced with one having adifferent length of perpendicular potion 21 b, so that the height ofprobe 10 or other changes according to the apparatus specification canbe easily adjusted.

In the above embodiment, the groove 30 is formed on the probe supportingplate 11, a plurality of through-holes 30 a and concave portions 30 bare formed along the groove 30, and corresponding locking portions 21 cand 22 a are formed on the probe 10, thus the probe supporting plate 11locks each probe 10 at two positions and number of probes 10 can besupported sufficiently.

In the embodiment above, the upper contact 20 with elasticity is formedon the upper portion of the probe 10 so that, for example, theelectrical contact between the printed wiring board 12 and the probe 10can be ensured while absorbing the distortion of the probe supportingplate 11 and the printed wiring board 12. Especially, in thisembodiment, there is no conventional interposer so that the number ofparts for the probe card 2 is small thus the structure of the probe card2 can be simplified. For this reason, the probe 2 can further bemanufactured easily and the cost can be reduced as well. In addition,less electrical contact points exist thus examination speed and accuracyfor electrical characteristics can be improved.

Also, the lower contact 21 with elasticity is formed on the lowerportion of the probe 10, so that the lower contact 21 moves on thesurface of the electrode P when pressing the lower contact 21 to theelectrode P of the wafer W, thus the oxide film on the surface of theelectrode P on the wafer W can be shaved off adequately. The main bodyportion 22 of the probe 10 is formed in a plate shape, thus the productmanagement of the probe 10 can be made easily, for example, bydescribing a lot number of the probe 10, while maintaining the rigidityof the probe 10.

The concave portion 30 b on the probe supporting plate 11 is comprisedof two round holes 30 c and 30 d, the holes to lock probes 10 can beformed easily, for example, by a drilling process. The concave portion30 b can be formed on an accurate position by the drilling processthereby the positioning accuracy of the probes 10 can be improved.

In addition, the concave portion 30 b has two round holes 30 c and 30 d,however, holes are not limited to two. Also, the configuration ofconcave portion 30 b is not limited to the round hole, and it may be anelongate hole that is long in one direction viewed from a plane.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the probes 10 with the samedistance for the curvature portion 20 b contacting the terminal 12 a ofthe printed wiring board 12 and the perpendicular portion 21 bcontacting electrode P of the wafer W viewed from a plane, are used,however, a plurality of types of probes that have a different distanceof the curvature portion 21 b and the perpendicular portion 21 b may beused. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, in a portion of probes 70, thebeam portion 20 a of the upper contact 20 is formed obliquely upwardfrom the other end B side to the one end A side, and the curvatureportion 20 b may be formed on its top end portion. For this probe 70,the curvature portion 20 b is positioned on the one end A side comparedto the probe 10 described above. In addition, other configurations ofthe probe 70 are the same as that of the probe 10, thus identical namesand symbols are used and their explanations are omitted. And, as shownin FIG. 8, on the probe supporting plate 11, for example, probes 70 arearranged between two probes 10 within the group G and the probes 10 andprobes 70 are arranged alternately. In probes 70, the distance from thecurvature portion 20 b to the perpendicular portion 21 b viewed from aplane is shorter compared to the probe 10. In this case, each terminal12 corresponds to each of curvature portions 20 b for the probe 10 andprobe 70, and is formed on the printed wiring board 12.

According to this example, the probes can be used on a printed wiringboard with a complicated wiring pattern. Meanwhile, the forming positionof the terminal 12 a of the printed wiring board 12 can further bedesigned freely. In addition, for the probes 10 and 70, the distancefrom the curvature portion 20 b to the perpendicular potion 21 b can beconfigured arbitrarily by changing the length of the beam portion 20 aof the upper contact 20. Also, the probe with a different distance ofthe curvature portion 20 b and the perpendicular portion 21 b is notlimited to two types and may be three or more types.

Also, in the probe 10 described in the above embodiment, the lowercontact 21 having two horizontal beam portions 21 a, as shown in FIG. 9,and the perpendicular portion 21 b may be formed on the top end of thosetwo beam portions 21 a. In this case, the main body portion 22 may havea linear shape extending in a perpendicular direction that connects theend portion of the other end B side of the two beam portions 21 a andthe upper contact 20. Even in this case, rigidity and elasticity in thevertical direction of the probe 10 can be secured, thus contact of theprobe 10 and the printed wiring board 12 can be properly maintained.

In the embodiment above, the probes 10 of the probe supporting plate 11are directly contacted to the terminals 12 a of the printed wiring board12, however, for example, the connecting plate 90 and the elasticitymember 91 may be provided between the probe supporting plate 11 and theprinted wiring board 12 as shown in FIG. 10. The connecting plate 90,for example, is formed in a disc shape with a depth, and an upper faceterminal 90 a and a lower face terminal 90 b are formed on upper andlower faces of the connecting portion 90 respectively. The spacingbetween the lower face terminals 90 b, for example, is formed smallerthan that of the upper face terminals 90 a. Inside the connecting plate90, an internal wiring is formed to connect the upper face terminal 90 aand the lower face terminal 90 b. The upper contact 20 of the probe 10is contacting the lower face terminal 90 b.

The elastic member 91 is arranged between the connecting plate 90 andthe printed wiring board 12. The elastic member 91 is, for example,formed in sheet form and configured from a plurality of conductiveportions 91 a having elasticity and an insulating portion 91 bconnecting between each of the conducting portions 91 a. The conductiveportion 91 a is formed in a virtually cylindrical form penetrating inthe direction of sheet thickness and is exposed on the upper and lowerface of the sheet. The conductive portion 91 a is formed by, forexample, densely filling conductive particles in a high molecularmaterial having an insulation property and an elasticity. An upper faceterminal 90 a of the connecting plate 90 contacts the lower end portionof this conductive portion 91 a, and the terminal 12 a of the printedwring board 12 contacts the upper end portion of the conductive portion91 a.

By such configuration, the probe 10 of the probe supporting plate 11 andthe printed wiring board 12 are electrically conducted through theconnecting plate 90 and the elastic member 91.

The probe supporting plate 11, the connecting plate 90, and the elasticmember 91 are fixed to the printed wiring board 12 at their outercircumference portions by a plurality of bolts 92 which penetrate fromthe probe supporting plate 11 on the lower side to inside the printedwiring board 12. In addition, the lower end face of the bolt 92 islocated above the lower face of the probe supporting portion 11.

In this example, the connecting plate 90 provides a wider spacingbetween the printed wring board 12 and the probe supporting plate 11,thus, the printed wiring board 12 and the wafer W are prevented fromcontacting, even when a distortion occurred to the printed wiring board12 due to, for example, effects of thermal expansion and processingaccuracy. This enables prevents the printed wiring board 12 and thewafer W from contacting thereby preventing the printed wiring board 12and the wafer W from damage. The pitch conversion between the terminal12 a of the printed wiring board 12 and the electrode P of wafer W canbe done in both the connecting plate 90 and the probes 10 of the probesupporting plate 11, thus a larger pitch conversion can be made. Thisenables the examination of a wafer W with a smaller pitch of theelectrodes P. In addition, an internal wiring is formed in theconnecting plate 90, however, it can manufactured in lower cost comparedto the conventional contactor because the pitch conversion amount issmall.

Also, the elastic member 91 with a conductive property is intervenedbetween the connecting plate 90 and the printed wiring board 12,thereby, for example, distortion of the printed wiring board 12 isabsorbed and enables the maintenance of the horizontality of theconnection plate 90 or the probe supporting plate 11. This enablessufficient contact of the electrode P in the wafer face and each probe10 of the probe supporting plate 11.

In addition, the elastic member 91 described in this example is notlimited to a sheet form, and it can be configured, for example, by aplurality of curved metal pins.

In the above embodiment, the groove 30 is formed on the upper face sideof the probe supporting plate 11 and the probe 10 is arranged in thegroove 30, however, the groove may be formed on the lower face side ofthe probe supporting plate 11 with a plurality of probes arranged in thegroove. This example is hereinafter explained.

For example, as shown in FIG. 11, a groove 100 in a plurality of rowsalong X direction as described in the above embodiment is formed on thelower face side of the probe supporting plate 11. A plurality of probes110 are arranged in this groove 100 of the probe supporting plate 11.

For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the probe 110 is provided with anupper contact 120 that contacts the terminal 12 a of the printed wiringboard 12, a lower contact 121 to be contacted to the electrode P on thewafer W at an examination, a connecting portion 122 to connect the uppercontact 120 and the lower contact 121, and a locking portion 123 to lockthe probes 110 to the probe supporting plate 11.

The connecting portion 122 of probe 110 is, for example, formed in avirtually rectangular shape with a serpentine in left and right andhaving vertical elasticity. In addition, the shape of the connectingportion 122 is not limited to a rectangular shape, and may be in acorrugated shape. The upper contact 120 is, for example, formed linearlyupward from the upper portion of the connecting portion 122. On thelower end portion of the upper contact 120, a stopper 120 a larger thanother potions is formed.

The lower contact 121 is connected to the lower portion of theconnecting potion 122. The lower contact 121 is comprised of a beamportion 121 a formed in horizontal direction from the connecting portion122, and a perpendicular portion 121 b extends downwards from the topend of the beam portion 121 a, having a so called cantilever form. Theposition of the upper end portion of the upper contact 120 and theposition of lower end portion 121 c of lower contact 121 are staggered.

The locking portion 123 is mounted on the joint portion of theconnecting portion 122 and lower contact 121. The locking portion 123has a horizontal portion 123 a extending in a horizontal directionopposite of the lower contact 121 from the joint portion, and a convexportion 123 b protruding upward from the horizontal portion 123 a.

In this embodiment, for example, three types of probes 110 (110 a, 110b, 110 c) that have different distances from the upper end portion ofthe upper contact 120 to the lower end portion 121 c of the lowercontact 121 viewed from a plane are used. For example, for the probe 110a, the upper contact 120 is positioned around the middle of theconnecting portion 122 as shown in FIG. 13 (a), for the probe 110 b, theupper contact 120 is positioned at the lower end portion 121 c side ofthe lower contact 121 as shown in FIG. 13 (b), and for the probe 110 c,the upper contact 120 is positioned opposite from the lower end portion121 c on the lower contact 121, as shown in FIG. 13 (c).

Further, three types of probes 110 a, 110 b, and 110 c are formed suchthat the positions of convex portions 123 b on the locking portion 123are different from each other. For example, the convex portion 123 b isthe furthest from the connecting portion 122 for the probe 110 a, theconvex portion 123 b is next-furthest from the connecting portion 122for the probe 110 b, and the convex portion 123 b is closest to theconnecting portion 122 for the probe 110 c.

As shown in FIG. 12, a through-hole 100 a penetrating through the upperface of the probe supporting plate 11 is formed on the bottom face (topface) of the groove 100 on the probe supporting plate 11. The uppercontact 120 of the probe 110 is inserted through this through-hole andthe upper end portion of the upper contact 120 protrudes upward of theprobe supporting plate 11. Also, a stopper 120 a of the upper contact120 is locked on the lower end circumference portion of the through-hole100 a.

The concave portion 100 b is formed around the groove 100 on the lowerface of the probe supporting plate 11. The convex portion 123 b of thelocking portion 123 of probe 110 is engaged to the concave portion 100b. The inside of the concave portion 100 b is, for example, filled witha light-curable resin, such as UV-curable resin and the locking portion123 is attached to the concave portion 100 b by curing the resin byexposure in an UV ray with the convex portion 123 b engaged. Inaddition, a thermal-curable resin may be used for this adhesion.

FIG. 14 shows an enlarged view of the lower face of the probe supportingportion 11. As shown in FIG. 14, the through-hole 100 a and the concaveportion 100 b are paired, and formed colinear with the Y directionperpendicular to the direction of the grooves 100. Each of thethrough-hole 100 a and the concave portion 100 b are formed aligned inthe X direction along the groove 100. For example, the concave portions100 b adjacent in the X direction are formed having different distancesfrom the side wall portion 100 c of the grooves 100 c. Also, thethrough-hole 100 a is formed on a position that corresponds to eachterminal 12 a of the printed wiring board 12, and the though-holes 100a, adjacent in the X direction, are formed having different distancesfrom the side wall portion 100 c of the grooves 100 (positions wheredifferent distances from the electrodes P of the wafer W to bedescribed). As shown in FIG. 15, for these positions of thethrough-holes 100 a and the concave positions 100 b, any of three typesof the probe 110 described above can be inserted to a pair of concaveportions 100 b and through-holes 100 a, and the position of the lowerportion 121 c of the lower contact 121 is configured to correspond tothe position of the each electrode P of the wafer W to be examined andarranged on the colinear X direction.

In this embodiment, each three through-holes 100 a and concaved portion100 b adjacent to each other in the X direction are grouped, and each ofthree types of probes 110 a, 110 b, and 110 c are attached to each groupG in predetermined order. As a result, the spacing D3 between the lowerend portions 121 c of the lower contacts 121 of probes 110 adjacent eachother within the group G is smaller than the spacing D4 between theupper contacts 120, thus the wider pitch of the terminals 12 a of theprinted wiring board 12 is converted to the smaller pitch of theelectrodes P on the wafer W by these probes 110.

According to this embodiment, the plurality of probes 110 can be lockedto the probe supporting plate 11, such that the spacing between thelower end portions 121 c of the lower contact 121 of probe 110 issmaller than that of the lower contacts 120, so that the probe 110 canconvert the wider pitch of the terminals 12 a of the printed wring board12 to the smaller pitch of the electrodes P of the wafer W, thereby thewafer W with a smaller pitch of electrodes P can be examinedsufficiently. In this case, because a conventional contactor with acomplicated fine wiring structure is not necessary, the production ofprobe card 2 is simplified and the probe cards 2 can be manufacturedinexpensively in a short period of time.

Each of the adjacent concave portions 110 b are in different distancesfrom the groove 100, thus each of concave portion 100 b does notinterfere with each other even when the spacing in the X direction ismade smaller. This enables probe 110 to be arranged in the X directionwith a small pitch, and as a result, the electrode P with a small pitchcan be examined.

In the above embodiments, three types of probes 110 with differentdistances from the upper contact 120 to the lower end portion 121 c ofthe lower contact 121 viewed from a plane are used, however, it is notlimited to three types, it may be two types, or 4 types or more.

In the above embodiment, a connecting plate 150 may be provided betweenthe printed wiring board 12 and the probe supporting plate as shown inFIG. 16. This connecting plate 150 is, for example, has a disc shapewith a depth and formed with a glass. A plurality of through-holes 150 apenetrate vertically and are formed on the connecting plate 150. A metalpin 151 is inserted to each through-hole 150 a as a linear shapeconductive member. The metal pin 151 is smaller than the diameter of thethrough-hole 150 a as shown in FIG. 17, and able to freely movevertically, against the through-hole 150 a. The metal pin 151 protrudesvertically from the though-hole 150 a and is longer than thethrough-hole 150 a. On the lower end portion of the metal pin 151, forexample, a stopper 151 a which is larger than the diameter of thethrough-hole 150 a, is formed. As shown in FIG. 16, the probe supportingplate 11 and the connecting plate 150 are fixed to the printed wiringboard 12 with a plurality of bolts 152 penetrating from the probesupporting plate 11 on the lower side to inside the printed wiring board12 at their outer circumference. In addition, the lower end faces of thebolts 152 are located above the lower face of the probe supportingportion 11. In this way, as shown in FIG. 17, the metal pin 151 ispushed up by the upper contact 120 of the probe 110 and the upper endportion of the metal pin 151 contacts the terminal 12 a of the printedwiring board 12. This allows the electrical conduction of the probe 110and the printed wiring board 12.

In this example, the spacing between the printed wiring board 12 and theprobe supporting plate 11 is widened by the connecting plate 150, thuscontact of the printed wiring board 12 and the wafer W can be prevented,even when, for example, distortion has occurred to the printed wiringboard 12 due to thermal expansion or processing accuracy. This preventsdamage to the printed wiring board 12 or wafer W. Also, the electricalconduction of the printed wiring board 12 and the probe 110 has beenmade through the metal pin 151 that can move freely within thethrough-hole 150 a, and distortion can be absorbed by the elasticity ofthe probe 110 located under the metal pin because the metal pin 151follows the distortion and vertically moves even when, for example, theprinted wiring board 12 is distorted due to a problem of processingaccuracy. This stabilizes the height of the lower end portions 121 c ofeach probe 110 and the contact of the electrode P within the wafer faceand the probes 110 can be made properly.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described inreference to the accompanying drawings; however, the present inventionis not limited to such an example. It should be appreciated that oneskilled in the art can think up various variations and modificationswithin ideas described in the claims, and such variations andmodifications fall within a technical scope of the present invention.For example, the probe 10, 110, and the probe supporting plate 11 arenot limited to the form described in this embodiment and can be inanother form. The present invention can also be applied to a case wherethe examination object is a substrate such as an FPD (flat paneldisplay) other than the wafer W.

The current invention is useful in realizing a probe card which canrespond to an examination object with small electrode spacing, and iseasy and inexpensive to manufacture.

1. A probe card comprising; a circuit board structured to transmit anelectric signal to a plurality of probes located on a probe supportingplate that is positioned on a lower face side of said circuit board,with each of the plurality of probes positioned in a vertical direction;where an upper end portion of each of the plurality of probes protrudesupward from the probe supporting plate and contacts said circuit board,and a lower end portion of each of the plurality of probes protrudesdownward from the probe supporting plate; where the upper end portionand the lower end portion of each of the plurality of probes areshiftable; and where the plurality of probes are also lockable such thata first spacing between the upper end portion of the plurality of probescan be changed to a second spacing relative to a plurality of electrodesto be examined.
 2. The probe card according to claim 1, wherein saidupper portion of said probe directly contacts a terminal of said circuitboard.
 3. The probe card according to claim 1, wherein a second circuitboard is further arranged between said circuit board and said probesupporting plate.
 4. The probe card according to claim 3, wherein aconnecting plate is further arranged between said circuit board and saidsecond circuit board.
 5. The probe card according to claim 4, whereinsaid connecting plate comprises a conductive portion protruding in avertical direction, and an elasticity member having an insulatingportion formed on a circumference of said conductive portion; andwherein an upper end portion of the conductive portion of saidelasticity member is connected to a terminal provided on said circuitboard and a lower end portion of said conductive portion is electricallyconnected to said second circuit board.
 6. The probe card according toclaim 1, wherein each of said plurality of probes is configured to beinserted and removed freely against said probe supporting plate.
 7. Theprobe card according to claim 6, wherein said plurality of probes arelocked to said probe supporting plate in a plurality of rows; saidprobes in each row are arranged aligning said upper end portion and saidlower end portion in a substantially perpendicular direction; saidprobes in each row are grouped with adjacent probes in a plurality ofgroups; and within each group, the spacing of said lower end portion foradjacent probes is smaller than that of said upper end portion.
 8. Theprobe card according to claim 7, wherein each group includes a pluralityof types of probes that each have a different length from said upper endportion to said lower end portion.
 9. The probe card according to claim8, wherein said different types of probes are arranged adjacent to eachother.
 10. A probe card comprising; a circuit board structured totransmit an electric signal to a plurality of probes located on a probesupporting plate that is positioned on a lower face side of said circuitboard, with each of the plurality of probes positioned in a verticaldirection; where an upper end portion of each of the plurality of probesprotrudes upward from the probe supporting plate and contacts saidcircuit board, and a lower end portion of each of the plurality ofprobes protrudes downward from the probe supporting plate; and whereeach of said plurality of probes comprises at least an upper portion, amain body portion and a lower portion and said upper portion includes anupper end portion structured to contact the circuit board and flex whensaid upper portion contacts said circuit board.
 11. The probe cardaccording to claim 10, further comprising a groove formed to positionsaid plurality of probes on an upper face side of said probe supportingplate; and where a lower portion of each of said plurality of probes ispositioned on a bottom face of said groove and is located in athrough-hole.
 12. The probe card according to claim 11, wherein aplurality of concave portions are formed on a side wall upper endportion of said probe supporting plate; and a locking portion structuredto engage and lock to said plurality of concave portions is formed oneach of said plurality of probes.
 13. The probe card according to claim12, wherein said concave portion comprises a plurality of round holeseach having a bottom formed from a upper face side of said probesupporting plate; said plurality of round holes are formed in a linearshape and adjacent holes are connected to each other; and a side face ofa round hole closest to said groove among said plurality of round holesis open to a side wall face of said groove.
 14. The probe card accordingto claim 13, wherein at least one or more round holes except a roundhole closest to said groove are formed deeper than said round holeclosest to said groove.
 15. The probe card according to claim 10,wherein an upper portion of said probe comprises an upper end portionhaving a convex curvature portion; and a beam portion connected to saidcurvature portion and formed obliquely upward from an upper portion ofsaid main body portion.
 16. The probe card according to claim 10,wherein said lower portion of said probe comprises a perpendicularportion including said lower end portion; and a beam portion formed in ahorizontal direction from a lower portion of said main body portion andsaid perpendicular portion connected to a top end of said probe.
 17. Theprobe card according to claim 16, wherein a lower portion of said probehas two parallel beam portions.
 18. The probe card according to claim10, wherein a main body portion of said probe is formed in a plate shapeinstalled in a perpendicular face.
 19. A probe card comprising; acircuit board structured to transmit an electric signal to a pluralityof probes located on a probe supporting plate that is positioned on alower face side of said circuit board, with each of the plurality ofprobes positioned in a vertical direction; where an upper end portion ofeach of the plurality of probes protrudes upward from the probesupporting plate and contacts said circuit board, and a lower endportion of each of the plurality of probes protrudes downward from theprobe supporting plate; and where each of said plurality of probescomprises at least an upper portion, a main body portion and a lowerportion and said main body portion includes an upper end portionstructured to contact the circuit board and flex when said upper portioncontacts said circuit board.
 20. The probe card according to claim 19,further comprising a groove formed on a lower face side of said probecard to position said plurality of probes; and where an upper portion ofeach of said plurality of probes is inserted in a through-hole, formedon a bottom face of said groove.
 21. The probe card according to claim20, wherein a plurality of concave portions are formed along said grooveon a lower face adjacent to said groove on said probe supporting plate;wherein each of said plurality of probes includes a locking portion tolock said probe to said probe supporting plate; and a concave portion isformed on said locking portion of each of said plurality of probes. 22.The probe card according to claim 21, wherein the locking portion ofeach of said plurality of probes is adhered to said concave portion witha resin curable by light or heat.
 23. The probe card according to claim21, wherein each of said adjacent concave portions is formed at adifferent distance from said groove.
 24. The probe card according toclaim 19, wherein a main body portion of each of said plurality ofprobes includes a shape that is either corrugate or rectangular.
 25. Theprobe card according to claim 21, wherein said locking portions of eachprobe are attached to a joint portion of said main body portion and alower portion.
 26. The probe card according to claim 25, wherein saidlower portion of said probe comprises a perpendicular portion havingsaid lower end portion; and a beam portion formed in horizontaldirection from the lower portion of said main body portion and connectedto said perpendicular portion at a top end of said probe.